Mar 08, 2019

Video circulating on social media shows a British Columbia commercial fisherman tossing an explosive device among dozens of sea lions resting on the surface, scattering the mammals.

The graphic footage has angered animal rights proponents and prompted an investigation by Canadian authorities, while it appears to have been published to show the extent of a sea lion “invasion” that some say threatens the livelihoods of fishermen.

Campbell River Whale & Bear excursions posted the video to Facebook Wednesday with the statement: “This video was shot over the weekend on a commercial seine vessel waiting for the Commercial Herring opening. I’m making this video public so the public is aware that this is happening repeatedly right now off Comox, Denman Island and Hornby Island.

We think this video was filmed by the BC Balance Pinniped Society who is trying to push a 50% Pinniped cull on the coast of British Columbia and Canada. This behavior is 100% illegal and goes against the Marine Mammal Guidelines.”

The Pacific Balance Pinniped Society first posted the footage Tuesday on its Facebook group page. The group stated that the “bear banger” device was used to scatter Stellar and California sea lions that were sitting over a massive school of herring.

The society wants Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans to expand indigenous harvesting rights to include the commercial sale of the seal and sea lion meat. The group believes a substantial cull would allow various fisheries to rebound, and create safer and more productive fishing conditions.

The society’s Facebook post, written by Thomas Sewid, begins by describing the scene before the explosive device was tossed: “This is what the herring test boats are dealing with at night right now. Theoretically darkness brings the herring to the surface, which makes it easier to catch them. The test boats are to toss rings with nets and drag up about fifty pounds of herring to sample for roe percentage content from the nets.

“Seeing as there’s such a high number of British Columbia resident Stellar sea lions and thousands of invasive California sea lions, the herring are being dove upon. This massive amount of sea lions diving on huge schools of herring scares them to stay deep. This makes it so captains cannot catch herring, for they’re too deep for nets.”

CBC identified the fisherman who tossed the device as Allan Marsden, and reported that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating and might file charges.

The DFO stated in a tweet: “Reminder: It is illegal to disturb #seals, #sealions or other marine mammals. This includes the use of acoustic deterrents such as seal bombs or other explosives.”

Andrew Trites, who runs the marine mammal research department at the University of British Columbia, said of the video footage: “Throwing a stick of dynamite next to the head of an animal, you’re going to blow out its hearing. If it’s near its eye, you’re going to blow the eye out.

Trites added: “I know I’ve heard them say ‘Well it doesn’t hurt the animal.’ Well if that’s the case I would challenge them to hold that stick in their hand, light it and let’s film it.”

Mar 04, 2019

An avalanche swept across a portion of Interstate 70 in Colorado on Sunday, briefly engulfing at least one vehicle and shoving several others across the highway.

The accompanying footage, captured by Shaune Golemon and shared with Denver 7 News, shows the snow slide seemingly burying a white truck with a family inside.Nobody inside the truck was injured, and later in the video the family can be seen outside the vehicle, trying to dig out.

KDVR reported that I-70 was temporarily closed because of the avalanche and that no injuries were reported, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

The Denver Post reported that the avalanche occurred at about 5 p.m. as skiers were commuting home from the slopes in Summit County, between Frisco and Copper Mountain.

Colorado State Patrol Trooper Tim Schaefer is quoted a saying no cars were actually buried. Schaefer added, “It was more than a dusting of snow. There was also tree debris on the road.”

Feb 22, 2019

A photographer in Western Australia has captured video footage showing four dolphins in a sprint down the beach a mere stone’s throw from shore.

A 100-meter dolphin dash, if you will. A marine mammal version of a horse race, with the inside lane seemingly producing a clear winner.

The remarkable footage was captured Wednesday at Yanchep Lagoon by Carly Sinden, who said the dolphins raised their heads collectively, as if announcing themselves, before launching their speedy exhibition.

“They were so inquisitive and friendly, and even swam around the school kids who were in the lagoon having their school swimming lesson,” Sinden, who specializes in newborn baby photography, told FTW Outdoors.

Sinden also captured a second clip showing the dolphins racing in the opposite direction, this time with people in the water. One wader was a mere inches from one of the friendly mammals, and didn’t flinch as it dashed past him.

Said Sinden: “It’s something I will never forget and makes me grateful to call this beautiful place home.”

Yanchep Lagoon, near Perth, is popular among swimmers and snorkelers, who apparently never know what they might see.

Feb 06, 2019

Bison are enormous and might seem ungainly, but they're surprisingly fast, which is why tourists in Yellowstone National Park are cautioned to keep a safe distance.

The accompanying footage, captured by photographer Richard Peters, shows an enormous bison sprinting past the touring vehicle at top speed on a snow-covered road.

As viewers will note, the tourists were amazed by the speed of the beast as it charged within a few feet of their vehicle.

Peters, who is based in the U.K., wrote on Facebook: “Just got back from an incredible two weeks in Yellowstone, where on one particular day our Natures Images group were reminded just how fast bison can be, when they decide! Quite the close encounter!”

According to the Yellowstone website, bison have injured more tourists than any other animal. While they appear docile, and sometimes are, they’re unpredictable “and can run three times faster than humans.”

The park advises tourists to remain at least 25 yards from bison, which are often referred to as buffalo.

Bison are the largest land-dwelling mammal in North America, with the larger males weighing up to 2,000 pounds. More than 4,500 bison reside seasonally within Yellowstone boundaries.

–Top image showing bison feeding in the snow is courtesy of the National Park Service; second image is a video screen shot

Jan 02, 2019

A sailboat abandoned more than eight years ago in the Indian Ocean, after the dramatic rescue of its 16-year-old U.S. captain, has been discovered adrift off South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.

The 40-foot Wild Eyes, its hull encrusted with barnacles, was last piloted by Abby Sunderland as she attempted to become the youngest person to solo-sail around the world.

But on June 10, 2010, while struggling in a ferocious storm hundreds of miles from land, Sunderland activated two emergency beaconsafter a giant wave rolled her vessel, destroying its mast and communications equipment.

Wild Eyes was spotted 20 hours later by the crew of an Australian patrol aircraft. Sunderland, from Thousand Oaks, Calif., was rescued two days later by the crew of a French fishing vessel. The location was so remote that Wild Eyes was abandoned.

“Seconds later, I woke up lying on the roof with things falling on top of me. The engine box cover, the floorboard, the teakettle, my toolbag, loose tools that I had just been using –- all hitting me in the chest, legs, face. The sea had turned Wild Eyes upside down.”

Dec 12, 2018

Footage has surfaced showing a large shark ripping a mask from the face of a scuba diver at Rangiroa in French Polynesia.

The 2007 footage, recently released in high definition, shows the unidentified diver having briefly settled at the bottom when a large shark veers in and bites his mask.

The mask comes off and the diver rolls backward. He suffered only a scratch on his forehead, according to reports.

Peter Schneider, who was part of the group of divers, was interviewed by the Daily Mail last week. “I couldn’t help but scream when I saw it happen,” Schneider recalled. “Once the sharks had cleared, I swam over to check on him.”

Schneider said that several silvertip sharks were circling at the time and that the diver had been teasing the sharks with bait used to attract the predators.

“I didn’t have any pity for the diver as he’d provoked the reaction and he knew it,” Schneider said.

Silvertip sharks inhabit tropical portions of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. They measure to about 10 feet and are powerful and aggressive feeders.

The Florida Museum, which maintains the International Shark Attack File, states that silvertips should be treated with caution “due to [their] size and abundance around offshore reefs.”

The species, however, is implicated in only one unprovoked attack on a human.

Dec 07, 2018

Scott Eastwood has been vacationing in Baja California, Mexico, and a highlight has to be the actor’s close encounter with orcas as he paddled with a friend in the Sea of Cortez.

Eastwood, son of legendary actor Clint Eastwood, explained Thursday on Instagram that he and companion Parker Moran had stopped “at some random beach along the coast of Baja to get a beer, and while eating lunch saw a group of orcas out in the bay.”

They ventured out on a standup paddleboard and the sleek mammals were elusive “until [Moran] started making orca noises and slapping the water with his paddle,” Eastwood wrote.

“They turned around and came in to check us out!! Dory was right. We do speak [whale].”

In the footage, the orcas appear directly beneath the paddleboard and Moran notes, “They’re biting our fins,” referring to the stabilizing fins beneath the paddleboard.

Moran is attempting to speak orca and both paddlers are laughing, a bit nervously, throughout the encounter, which is understandable.

Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas, or killer whales, are found throughout the Mexican Pacific, including the Sea of Cortez, where they’ve been known to surf wakes created by boats and approach freedivers.

On Tuesday, a day before a storm rolled into Southern California, three humpback whales were encountered under ideal conditions off Newport Beach.

It turned out to be a rare and magical experience for those on the Newport Coastal Adventure excursion, as one of the whales was a calf or young juvenile, less than a year old, learning to feed on schooling anchovies.

Stunning aerial footage, captured by Chelsea Mayer, shows the anchovies tightly bunched into a massive bait ball, and the young whale following the lead of the adults as they lunge through the ball, ingesting thousands of anchovies per gulp.

“Notice the smallest whale, still a baby, learning how to lunge feed from its mom; so cute!” reads the Facebook video description.

Mayer, a photographer for Newport Coastal Adventure, wrote on Instagram: “This is the first time I’ve seen multiple whales lunge feeding together in Newport Beach, and it’s no wonder – look at the size of that bait ball!”

One of the adult whales could be the mom, but it could also be that the young whale, recently weaned, is merely tagging along with two larger companions.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a Southern California-based whale researcher, told For The Win that humpback whale calves are born between December and March, and usually separate from their moms in late summer.

It’s likely that this trio is migrating from Central California to spend the winter off Mexico or Central America.